Our HS senior has been accepted at Bard College. S/he did not apply to the Bard Conservatory because the Conservatory is exclusively for classical study, and they wish to study other musical forms and composition. When we visited, we saw that the Bard Music Department and the Bard Conservatory of Music are distinct separate entities, even though they share some faculty and facilities. Our concern however, is that the Conservatory (classical) program gets more resources/attention than the Music Department. Can anyone speak to this difference? The Conservatory seems to have it own fundraising for example. Does the Bard Conservatory pull rank over it’s sibling Music Department?
Our kid faces a very difficult position because they have also been accepted to Oberlin Music Conservatory TIMARA program, with scholarship. Any thoughts, advice, insights much appreciated.
Bard and Oberlin have very different “personalities”.
Personally, I think Oberlin has the stronger programs.
Most musician-minded students I knew faced with such a choice would overwhelmingly choose Oberlin over Bard even without the scholarship.
Ask in the Music Subform;http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/
I posted a reply to this on the Music Major Forum. @thumper1 and @cobrat - do either of you have personal experience with the two departments? The music department at Bard College is pretty incredible. But, it is not an audition program for the first two years - for the actual major one must moderate and be admitted to the program for junior and senior year. The college program has a lot more freedom of aesthetics than either conservatory - Bard or Oberlin. TIMARA is very specialized. If it’s a fit for the student, great - but if they want to explore different areas, Bard College could very well be a better option. The quality of professors at both programs are comparable. The musicianship of the students in the Bard College program will be a bit more varied, because of the lack of audition requirements the first few years. My son was a composition student who was accepted everywhere he applied, and he chose Bard. He did end up in the conservatory but seriously considered just taking the college route. The academic music classes at Bard College are fantastic, with great professors.
The Bard Conservatory actually requires a 5 year double degree as you may know.
Is this posted on the music forum?
What do you mean by “other musical forms?” I mean, jazz and rock, or electronics for instance? If he got into Timara clearly he is talented and has done some work in the areas that Timara focuses on. Does he want to continue in that vein?
This really depends on what he wants. How important are academics to him? For a BM there would be 2/3-3/4 music classes and a BA in music tends to be 1/4-1/3 music classes.
If he has other interests, he can do a double degree at some point at Oberlin, or try to get into the Conservatory at Bard.
I don’t think we know enough about what he wants to comment helpfully 
This aspect would have been a serious turn-off for most conservatory classmates considering the level of musical proficiency they must demonstrate to be considered viable for admission to Oberlin and peer conservatories. They wanted to play with classmates who were just as/more proficient than them.
A Double-degree program at Oberlin will also take a MINIMUM of 5 years and require him to take exceedingly higher credit loads than their college counterparts.
There’s also the factor that the academic rigor/pacing/competitiveness in the Oberlin conservatory(Especially Piano…likely less so in other departments) is such that it’s not unheard of for admitted conservatory students to be dropped from/strongly encouraged* from continuing on the program and end up finishing up in the college if their grades/musical performance was felt to be below expectations.
- This has happened to many Oberlin alums who started out as conservatory majors including Michelle Malkin(Oberlin '92) who started out as a Piano major and ended up finishing as an English major in the college.